Noel Biderman, the Chief Executive Officer of Avid Life Media Inc., announced today that he is stepping down. The company operates the embattled site Ashley Madison, which helps married people arrange affairs to cheat on their spouses.
“This change is in the best interest of the company and allows us to continue to provide support to our members and dedicated employees,” ALM said in a statement. “We are steadfast in our commitment to our customer base.”
No interim CEO was named. At the moment, the company will be run by the senior management team.
The company insisted that it is “adjusting to the attack” on Ashley Madison, which eventually lead to the leak of names and information of everyone who used Ashley Madison. This includes celebrities like Josh Duggar, Real Housewives of New York husband Josh Taekman and YouTube vlogger Sam Radar.
“We are actively cooperating with international law enforcement in an effort to bring those responsible for the theft of proprietary member and business information to justice,” ALM said.
In addition to the scandal the site Biderman created faces, he has to deal with his own problems. Buzzfeed reported that leaked emails appear to show that Biderman had multiple affairs, including one that continued for years. He also appears to have had an affair with a Toronto escort.
Wired also reported earlier this week that ALM is facing four lawsuits from former Ashley Madison users. One man from Canada, who claims that he never had an affair and was only on the site briefly, is suing the company for $578 million.
screenshot from AshleyMadison.com